Hearts of the Kingdom
by AnHeiressofaSOLDIER
Summary: Post KH3. Sora has saved those who need saving, and the world's at peace. Still, Naminé senses something bad coming. Something that will threaten all of the friends in ways they've never known. What could be worse than Xehanort? The trios will soon learn.


**Chapter 1: A Dreadful Hunch**

**Naminé's POV**

Naminé smiled thinking of the erasable crayons that Ax... Lea had recently bought her. However, not even that was capable of keeping the once Nobody from being frustrated. She _knew_ that there was something there. Her restless research was finally leading to something! Naminé knew that the information she sought—information on a suspicious person—was just a hair's breadth away. But she couldn't access memories of Sora (and those aligned with him) as easily as she had once been able to.

Naminé felt a headache coming on; she was pleased when she didn't throw her new prized crayons at the wall in frustration. And as it was at that moment that Lea peeked his head into her room, she was even gladder her heart hadn't acted out. Hearts… they were interesting things.

Like Lea's. He walked into the white witch's room without any consent. Feeling a need to vent out his frustration he quickly lit his chakrams and aimed them at Naminé's (thankfully _not_ white) walls. The pyromaniac heaved out a loud scream, but when he faced Naminé he acted as though nothing had happened at all.

Yes, it wasn't the first time that the former Nobody had tried to add burn marks to Naminé's otherwise flawless walls. She had been shocked at first when he'd attacked the defenseless wood (even more shocked that the walls were some how fire proof), but as it had happened on more than one occasion, she couldn't help but find it all somewhat humorous. She would have never imagined that Lea's power over fire was something he'd had as a human. But Nobodies did have to have their powers stem from somewhere…

If she was being honest with herself, Naminé was rather glad for Lea's power and his affinity for attacking her walls. It added color to Naminé's walls; the girl couldn't help but feel it also added color to her _life_. She was done with her past life as a Nobody. She was done with the absence of color in her life. Still… "Who would have thought you of all people would be a slave to your heart, Lea?" Lea's outraged face seemed to only prove her point further.

Sitting down across from Naminé (the white chairs at the table being the only thing white in her room), Lea was quick to plead his case; rapid hand gestures of his were almost as crazy as Sora's. "Hey, I'll take overreacting over no reaction any day."

Naminé smiled slightly, but as her peripheral vision put her uncompleted drawing in view, Naminé's features didn't stay brightened. It was only the setting sun (that added even more color to Naminé's already clashing room) that lifted her spirits apart from the memory of Lea's tirade. Naminé's room—much bigger than her one from Castle Oblivion—was filled to the brim with an assortment of her and others' artwork. The messiness almost rivaled even Sora's old room. Paints, crayons, gel pens and different mediums of paper littered almost every available surface. Even her lacey canopy bed always had to be discarded from the mess before she went to bed.

The messiest surface, however, was her drawing table. She noticed Lea took extra care to not ruin any of her drawings as he sat with his elbows drawn over some of Naminé's sketches. "And I thought I was bummed," Lea smiled slightly towards Naminé; an indication that his next words didn't hold as much weight as they might otherwise sound. "Why the long face, Princess?"

Naminé couldn't help but smirk and lean forward at Lea's nickname for her. Even without a heart Lea had been able to retain at least _some_ feeling. But this slight happiness wasn't enough to erase her unease at what she was trying to decipher. Looking around her room nervously, Naminé noted how the setting sun—peeking still brightly through her widest window—seemed to reflect off of her paints to create seemingly new colors. She found solace in this. Just because she suspected something bad was coming, did it necessarily link in with Xehanort? Naminé tried desperately to believe that they were facing a new color entirely. _Hopefully one not as dark as Xehanort. _Naminé could only hope that the thou- dream would prove true.

"Oh!" Lea's sudden exclamation and fist on the table broke Naminé out of her reverie. She eyed him suspiciously, but new that he had no bad intent (even in damaging one of her pictures). "You want me to explain about my problems first, right? I—someone who couldn't even _want_ to live without a heart—should know better than to force one to express themselves, right? I should at least start out."

Lea winked at Naminé who couldn't help but blush at the action. Lea could be so sweet sometimes. The blond realized exactly what he was doing; he was giving her a chance to collect her thoughts. Even the chance to back out of spilling her heart to him. And yet he was willing to lay his emotions on the line for her. She and Lea truly had come along way since Castle Oblivion (even Sunset Hill).

After Naminé had mouthed a "thank you" to Lea, he began his tale. "Let's just say I am unhappy with Twilight Town. Its sister Traverse Town is at least a bit more cooperative."

The former number eight of Organization XIII crossed his arms defiantly. Naminé wondered if it was more out of reflex or more out of restraint. Restraint from damaging more of her walls, anyway. Naminé tried not to laugh at the last bit. And to make sure she did stave it off she picked up one of her drawing pencils. Tapping it lightly she tried to order her own thoughts. "They were against putting in a center I assume?" Why some one would be against such a thing Naminé wasn't sure, but it wasn't the first time they'd met aggression when it came to their ideas.

After Sora had revived all of those who were in torment; after the defeat of Xehanort once and for all; The King and his subjects Donald and Goofy had come up with a plan. The plan was to inform the worlds on everything that had (and still could transpire). "People's ignorance of other worlds should be long past," The King had explained to his closest pals. "Gosh, I know the worlds are separated for a reason still, but if people might still get hurt I don't know what that reason could be."

In the end the King had decided to try and station bases on different worlds. The bases were intended to be not only a guard of defense, but an information base as well. Though Xehanort was gone, Heartless (darkness in people's hearts) and Nobodies were still far from extinct. If someone rose up to unbalance things again, the King wished to know it right away. It was mainly that reason that the bases of information were being instigated.

What Naminé favored, however, was that they also served as help for anyone who ended up in another world or to anyone who'd lost their _own _world (The worlds were so plentiful that it would take awhile to seal _all_ of the Keyholes). The bases were also meant to fill those people in and help them get settled in nicely into a new world. Though Naminé had never experienced the disorientation firsthand, Sora's memories made it clear how lost one could be upon entering a new plane of existence (and that was from someone that had _dreamt_ of seeing other worlds). Naminé's heart went out to anyone that had to go through that.

Or to Nobodies being born in Twilight Town as Lea was talking about now. Paying her attention back to her friend she noted that he was no longer sitting in the chair anymore. In fact he was pacing in his distress. Hands again moving everywhere he exclaimed, "I mean we both know what it is to be born a Nobody. It's tragic, disconcerting, confusing, especially for you and Roxas… Xion too." The last was added as an afterthought. Though Xion hadn't truly been a Nobody she'd been told that she was one for most of her existence. She'd been just as lost as Roxas had without any memories, or the knowledge of how to use the heart she _did_ have.

Naminé glanced down at the floor in guilt. In many ways Roxas and Xion had been through so much more than she had. At least Naminé had had some _clue_ on how to act because of Sora's memories. And though they mistreated her, the Organization had been quick to fill her in on exactly who and what she was. What they wanted her for. There were days that Naminé still hated herself for what she'd done to Sora in Castle Oblivion. But she realized she almost hated herself more for the lack of spirit she'd had as a Nobody. Unlike Roxas and Xion, Naminé had never entertained the idea of trying to be her own person. Honestly she never even saw herself as something different. She'd pretty much known from the beginning that she would return to Kairi. She'd pushed the same thing on Xion and Roxas in regards to Sora. She never even thought about what they might have wanted. Her debt to Sora had been too deep.

But she must have somehow noted her wrong doings. After all, she'd put the note in Jiminy's Journal about her and the other tormented souls. There was no dwelling on the past. It was all over and done with. And in the end things had ended up as they should have. It was with this resolve that Naminé once again (confidently) returned her gaze to Lea. "I mean only in special cases are Nobodies born outside of Twilight Town. We'd thought if the town knew this they'd be overeager to create a base. But for whatever reason they think the worlds are meant to be cut off from each other and don't want to help."

Lea shook his head in anguish as he once again sat across from Naminé. The girl tapped her lips as she tried to come up with a scenario that would work the problem out. "What does Ansem the Wise say?" Other than the King, Donald, Goofy, Lea, and herself, Ansem the Wise had also accompanied them to help in their endeavors. The somewhat cruel man he'd once been was long gone so Naminé had no problem in noting how beneficial his wisdom was. He'd seen them through a lot of their decisions, but for most of them…

Lea placed his hands on his hips and shook distastefully. "He's as silent as ever." Naminé had thought that would be the case. He blamed so much of what happened on himself; the former ruler simply did not want to rule anymore. He chose to let others choose for themselves whenever capable. And taking courage from her heart, Naminé decided she would decide what to do on this case. "Maybe you should tell them about how the Organization had bases here. If they know that those of the darkness will have bases without their consent-"

Lea, quick to figure out where Naminé's train of thought was headed, finished her thought for her. "They'll want bases of light to stand against those." Placing his hands beneath his chin, Lea tried to figure out if there'd be any opposition against that idea. He clearly came up with nothing because fixing his eyes on Naminé he said, "It might work." And even if it didn't, Twilight Town didn't have to know that they _already_ had bases. The Old Mansion had been and still was their base there. It was even where Naminé and most of the Disney committee lived.

Smiling radiantly at Lea, Naminé noted she was like Ansem in that she liked others figuring things out for themselves. But she could still add more insight. "You might even ask the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee to talk to them. If they see how successful the first base has been, that might change their minds too."

Lea smiled broadly at Naminé and before she could blink papers were flying everywhere. Running towards her, Lea embraced her rather suddenly and accidentally roughly. "I think you just solved all of my problems, Naminé. I don't even feel the need to destroy anymore." He joked.

Naminé chuckled against Lea's chest. "What you really wanted to do was spar with someone."

Lea didn't deny it because he knew it was true. None of the people with them would take up sparring against Lea for they were too battle worn. But he always seemed to bother Naminé about it the most.

Once Naminé had been revived as a full Somebody, Riku had been quick to perform the Rite of Succession on her (to Sora's chagrin). It had been fairly obvious that Naminé would have the ability to wield a Keyblade (it was no secret that the inner circle thought it best to create more Key Bearers too). But what Riku really had been aiming for was to give Naminé the ability to defend herself. As a Nobody she'd been used so much…

Naminé had trained with it some. She'd even helped in the fight against Xehanort. But Naminé felt her (wavering) power over memories was what would truly benefit people. And what her powers were slowly but surely discovering was what was troubling _her_ lately.

Noting Naminé's troubled expression Lea clutched her tighter to him and remembered to ask what was troubling her (what he'd really been aiming to help with in disclosing his problems).

At Lea's question, Naminé left the circle of Lea's arms and picked up her sketchpad. She held it up to Lea to show the unfinished portrait of a woman with mousy brown hair and beady matching eyes. "This person popped up a lot in Xemnas' memories," Naminé tried to explain. "She may have popped up in other Organization members memories, but it's too hard to tell." Her power over Sora (and those connected to Sora) wasn't what it used to be. She was no longer created from Sora; she was no longer a Nobody. Mostly her old power would pop up by accident or dreams. It had been a dream, no a _nightmare_ when her powers had first picked up on the strange woman. "All I know is that there's something there."

Lea tried to put a reassuring hand on Naminé's shoulder, but as he scratched his head nervously it wasn't exactly reassuring. "I think digging this stuff up is just asking for trouble, Nami. You're worrying too much." In a very different tone he said, "You're getting lazy and not working on _our_ real job. Don't think I haven't noticed." Naminé smiled at the joke and tried to believe that Lea was right. "C'mon," Lea gestured Naminé forward, "I'll get you some sea-salt ice cream anyway." That was enough incentive for Naminé and she followed Lea out of her room. Ice cream _should_ have been enough incentive to forget her worries too. But Naminé found she couldn't.

Worlds away, Naminé's former twin Nobody was worried too.

**_Roxas' POV_**

Roxas bit the soul of his shoes into the springy grass. Though they were technically at the once Castle Oblivion, The Land of Departure was even different from it in the lay of its greenery.

The grass, though beautiful, wasn't too aiding when it came to Roxas' battle stance. The grass was dewy and Roxas found it hard to simply keep his footing. For just a moment, Roxas was glad that Xion was so intent on using fire spells. Perhaps it would dry the grass and give him better footing.

Not that Roxas would ever use it to his advantage. It was always the same. Xion would make light of her attacks while Roxas neither truly defended or struck back. In the end, Roxas would slump down out of standing for too long more than anything else.

The two's new Master, Eraqus was always the same, too. After their less than pleasing battles he would just shake his head and mutter with a stern expression, ""Xion, you've come to me to gain the Mark of Mastery. So why is it that you never call forth your Keyblade?"

Xion averted her gaze from the Master, and Roxas was strongly reminded of the chastising Xion had always received from Saïx. Maybe that was why the boy leveled a harsh glare on Eraqus and pushed the girl behind him. "It's Organization XIII's fault, Master. Xion only uses magic because, well..."

"If I use the Keyblade I'm reminded of how I almost absorbed Roxas. How each day I got stronger with it, I harmed my best friend. How-"

"Enough, Xion!" For a moment everyone froze. It was as if no one could believe Roxas had spoken to Xion that way. The Keyblade wielder could barely believe it himself.

Eraqus, who had been the one to recoil the most, stepped forward again and put a hand on both of his apprentices' shoulders. "What Roxas is trying to say, is that you mustn't blame yourself, Xion. Organization XIII"s treachery is over, and all is as it should be. You mustn't be afraid to use your Keyblade, Xion. You have a very strong heart; I don't doubt you could be the best Master this world has ever seen."

"Even better than Sora?" Xion asked with eyes that lit up like the summer sun.

"Yes, even better than Sora." Eraqus replied with a laugh.

And then Roxas and Xion were laughing hysterically. How fast their lives had changed! Just months ago they had been waiting for their original self to come and save them. Now they were their very own people. And unlike Sora, they were planning to take their jobs as Keyblade wielders seriously. To think that they could achieve better than the best Keyblader of all time was remarkable, to say the least.

"Just think, Xion, " Roxas exclaimed as he through an arm around her shoulder, "If I can learn to not rely on my second wind... we might be out exploring the worlds in a couple of months!"

Eraqus stroked his chin thoughtfully at this, but even behind that, Roxas could see the smile that lit up his Master's face. _He's probably thinking about my similarities to Ven_. Though the thought was rueful, the former Nobody was quick to let it go. He'd spent enough of his existence being compared to Sora. He wasn't about to start comparing himself to Ventus. "So you've noticed that you take far too much damage without properly channeling the energy?" Eraqus raised an eyebrow at this.

How was it that Roxas knew the Master was going to say all of this, but wasn't prepared for his goading? "Master, I can hardly harm Xion when she isn't using her Keyblade. Especially since our last bouts of energy usually leads to our strongest attacks!"

Roxas was prepared to get a lecture from his Master. But he wasn't prepared for Xion to elbow him (rather painfully) in the side. "What was that for Xi-Xi?" The blond asked as he rubbed the offended area. He purposefully kept his gaze from Xion. It was bad enough she'd hit him, Roxas wouldn't dare watch her laugh about it. "I told you not to go easy on me because I'm a girl. I don't want to be like Kairi!"

Roxas grinned at this. He knew just how to ruffle her feathers. Though something in the back of his mind wondered if he'd be opening a can of worms. But when Xion looked at him imploringly, and questioned him, it was as if she was purposefully asking him to tell the joke. "Come on, Xion!" He began with what he thought was a hearty laugh (in reality it was quieter than the whispering of leaves hitting trees). "Being Kairi's better than being Sora any day."

Xion locked her eyes on Roxas. Without any emotion in the action, Roxas was left feeling that he _had_ messed up. Turning his gaze to a patch of browning grass (that Roxas knew the OCD Eraqus would spell later), Roxas tried to think of the best way to approach Xion. Until...

"I win!" Roxas rolled his eyes. Xion and her affinity for staring contests. How could he have ever forgotten? A smile lit up his face, and he promised he'd never forget a trait about this girl ever again. "And that's very true, Roxas."

"Yes, it's all very amusing." Roxas' eyes met his Master's retreating form. He currently stood ahead of them with his hands behind his back. Roxas had almost forgotten he was there until he'd spoken. "In training tomorrow you will be forbidden to use magic, Xion."

"Yes, Master!" Xion said automatically as she straightened her position to better respect her Master.

"And Roxas," Eraqus turned around and faced the younger boy slightly, "you will only use long ranged attacks tomorrow. But more than that, neither of you will hold back tomorrow, is that clear?"

"Yes, Master!" The two answered simultaneously. Though Roxas had forgotten to partake in the proper posture. Though Eraqus had begun to turn around and head off, Roxas could have sworn he'd seen a smile on his man's face.

Just as soon as the Master had left, Xion fell to the ground in an undignified heap. "I'm beat!" The girl exclaimed as she purposefully lied down in some moist grass. Roxas could understand where Xion was coming from. Though the sun had just peaked over the horizon, there was humidity in the air. It looked like it was going to be a scorching day.

"You have no reason to be!" Roxas replied playfully. "You didn't lug around a big Keyblade, and I went easy on you."

The girl, oh so maturely, stuck her tongue out at the boy. And for a moment they had a fight to see who could make the goofiest faces. Xion—being much better at staring contests—quickly gave up as she gazed at the many clouds above them. It wasn't long before Roxas joined her. Being pulled in by one of Sora's memories he wanted to live himself. "We'll have to break our bad habits," Xion said once. Though her words held much weight, she spoke as if she were just talking about the weather. "If we can't face each other, we may have to fight one-on-one with the Master!"

"That wouldn't be pretty." The lack of enthusiasm in Roxas' voice was exactly like Xion's. Roxas had barely spoken to Terra. But the boy had spoken of a duel he'd had with Eraqus as punishment one time... Terra had never tried to best his Master again. Roxas cringed.

"More likely than not, if we don't shape up, he'll have Ven, Terra, and Aqua train with us when they get back from their world travels." Surprisingly enough, Xion's hand had slipped into Roxas'. The boy was at a bit of a loss as he tried to figure out what had prompted it. He certainly hoped it wasn't because of Ventus.

"Thanks but no thanks." Roxas said continuing the thought.

There must have been something in Roxas' voice because Xion rolled over so she could face him. The look on her face was too knowing. "You just don't want to have anything to do with your doppelganger."

"Shut up, Xion." The two laughed for a moment, and just marveled in the moment together. Marveled that they _were_ together. Even if their relationship was weird.

"Speaking of doppelgangers, what'd you hear from Naminé's mind?" Xion was abruptly serious.

Roxas couldn't help but tease her a little. "Jealous, Xion?" This time Roxas rolled over so he could see Xion better.

What he saw was Xion rolling her eyes. "You're like twins, Roxas." That was true enough, they were both (originally) Nobodies created from the same person. They could even read each other's minds. "I always thought you two looked alike," Xion said thoughtfully.

"How'd you know I learned something from Naminé?" Roxas asked ignoring his girlfriend's (was that the write word for her?) last statement.

Xion sat up at his question, and Roxas followed suit as he saw her look away. Somehow he knew he wouldn't like the answer. "You got distracted today. At one point you cut me pretty hard."

"Sorry." Roxas wished there was more to the word. "Sorry" didn't cut it. How had he ever hurt her? It was too much like... too much like when he'd killed her. That right there, that memory, was why he always held back when he fought her.

To say Roxas was surprised when Xion placed her hand over her face and leaned back groaning would be an understatement. "We'll be Eraqus' battle dummies yet. Roxas, I want you to fight me like that. You're supposed to be going for the Mark of Mastery, not debutant practice."

"I guess we both need some adjusting, huh?" And before Roxas really knew what he was doing, he pulled Xion atop of him. He quickly became lost in her dark blue eyes. It was much the way his hand kept getting lost in her hair.

Xion let out something that sounded much like a purr to Roxas. It seemed she was harming herself in pulling away, but she had to. "Roxas," Xion put her hands on either side of Roxas' face in a strong grip. "Focus. What did you get from Naminé?"

"Oh. She thinks someone in Xehanort's past is going to conjure up Heartless, gain allies, and try to take control of Kingdom Hearts. The usual."

And the Xion was rolling off of Roxas and doubling over in laughter. As she clutched her stomach, Roxas too partook in the giggles. "It wouldn't be our lives if that didn't happen."

"It's a good thing we're on the job then!" Roxas flinched unconsciously as he remembered Goofy saying the same thing to Donald and Sora. He _really_ hoped that they didn't have to go on another adventure. Though he dreamed of being a Keyblade Master and helping people... his true dream was to be with Xion and Axel in harmony. They'd earned that much, hadn't they?

Though Roxas didn't always know what to do with his time, he'd pick the girl that was a part of him over adventure any day.

"Oh yeah. Because we'd do such a stand up job of protecting the universe right now. Why did we ever leave Sora? We would have been more willing to brave the strife then. And we were asleep inside him!"

"Hey now." Roxas growled warningly (though it came out as more of a laugh). How dare she say he was asleep when he hadn't been the entire time! He didn't need to sleep to dream about his Xion. And did she really have to bring up the boy (the boy that admittedly was Roxas' friend) whose heart had held so many hostages? "I'll have you know that when you're in my company there should be no talk of Sora or Ven." Roxas rubbed his nose against Xion's and rested his face against her own.

He waited for the reply he knew she'd say. "You and your identity issues," but the words never came.

Quite ironically, a huge mass of fire came hurtling at the lounging couple. Xion had just enough time to jump to her feet and yell out, "Aero!" to repel the fire before hundreds of Heartless descended on them.

Roxas, who was quick to draw his new Keyblade Dwelling of Days after the shock had worn off, jumped up right beside Xion and began repelling attacks. He barely had enough time to raise the Keyblade up in a wide arc and block a strong hit before he had to block his feet from being knocked out. "What's going on?" Roxas asked loudly over the sizzling of the fire and clanging of blades on flesh.

Xion, who had been blocking a Samurai's attack (meaning there were also Nobodies in the fray), turned to face Roxas, but it was a mistake. She was sliced across the face, and she fell to the ground as blood spurted around her. "Xion!" Roxas called out as he dived down and cradled the fallen beauty's body. Willing himself not to remember how he'd held her as she died, Roxas quickly cast a Curaga. He was relieved to see that her eye was only slightly swollen before returning to the crowding monsters.

Out of the corner of his eye, Roxas could see that the Master had drawn Master Keeper and was also fighting the Heartless valiantly. "I don't understand it!" Eraqus yelled to Roxas so loudly that his voice already began to go out. "The Land of Departure's neutral! There shouldn't be Heartless, and Nobodies, and…"

"Unversed!" Xion exclaimed as a particularly suicidal Flood came hurtling toward her recently healed face. She drew Half of a Whole just in time to block the lesser attack, but Roxas could easily see the sense of dread on her face. Unversed were now controlled by Sora, so how… "Roxas, this has to be what Naminé was trying to worn you about!" Xion exclaimed as she dove for an Invisible that Roxas hadn't noted behind him.

"Ars Arcanum!" Roxas bellowed as he set out to do the specific attack. It did a good job of knocking many of the number back, but Roxas had a sickening feeling that they could only be set off course. Not beat. At the steps of the castle, Eraqus looked better than the others for having moved many of the enemies backwards, but they weren't disappearing.

"Roxas, look there!" Roxas could barely see where Xion was pointing due to the smoke surrounding them, but he could see the Boss quite easily.

"We have to take out that Twilight Thorn if we want them to leave. Xion, with me! Master," Roxas shouted a few octaves louder so the distanced man could hear him, "protect the castle's perimeter. This should be over soon! C'mon!" Roxas latched onto Xion's hand and the two dove over the fire and towards the cliffs were the Nobody was stationed.

Xion was quick to try and run up the beast's arm, but Roxas knew this was a fool's move from the beginning. A black tendril came speeding towards the girl, and hit her square in the stomach. She immediately fell into the grass, but Roxas imagined it probably didn't do much to cushion her. "Xi, are you okay?" He asked as he once again scooped her into his arms and cast a Cure spell.

'I've been better," she said with a soft smile, "but no one's going to have it as bad as that monster when I'm done with him!" And just like that she ran for the monster's head and tried to attack again. Roxas dodged another tendril the same moment she did. All the while, he was preparing a Zero Graviga spell. It hit with deadly force, and the Twilight Thorn was sufficiently damaged, but it was a lot angrier now. As it started to move further up the cliff, Roxas knew exactly what it was doing and was powerless to stop it. He'd jumped towards it without much thought, and now it was shooting out beams left and right. Roxas couldn't let them hit him, but he couldn't fall from the cliff, either.

Thankfully, Xion had his back. "Graviga!" At her exclaim, Roxas returned to the ground, but with a massive headache. Now it was Xion's turn to throw a Dark Firaga at the behemoth. It was nearly defeated, but it was still quite mad. Taking out a huge portion of the land in his temper tantrum, Xion was quick to go with it. On the plus side, the Nobody was undoubtedly hurtling to its doom. But if Roxas let go of Xion, she would too. He was already losing his own balance. "Xion, babe, I'm not going to drop you!" Roxas exclaimed with clenched teeth. Once again, his shoes were biting into the land. Once again, he wished it offered more traction.

"I know you won't, Roxas. You didn't let me fall off the Station Tower." No he hadn't, but Roxas himself had fallen off it before. He'd be damned if he let his girl suffer that real death. Using all of his strength, he kept his footing (but broke his kneecap in the process) and pulled Xion up. As she fell atop him, he felt a sort of numbness, but couldn't help kissing her face.

Still, that wasn't the last thing Roxas thought of before he went under. _Nami, what are we up against?_

**Author's Note: If and when I finish this fic (I can't right now because I'm swamped with other stories), Sora, Riku, Kairi, Ven, Terra, Aqua, the Disney characters, and Final Fantasy characters will all make an appearance. This is my idea of a KH4 (after the Xehanort saga). POVs will switch between members of trios (and Nami).**


End file.
